Microdisney -

Microdisney was an Irish sophisti-pop band that released the 1984–85 Rough Trade albums Everybody Is Fantastic and The Clock Comes Down the Stairs, followed by the 1987–88 Virgin titles Crooked Mile and 39 Minutes.

Members: Cathal Coughlan (vocals, keyboards), Sean O’Hagan (guitar, harmonica), Mick Lynch (bass, 1980-83), Rob Mackahey (drums, 1980-83), Ed Flesh (bass, 1983-87), Tom Fenner (drums, 1983-88), Steve Pregnant (bass, 1987-88), James Compton (keyboards, 1987-88)

Background

Microdisney started as a Cork-based combo formed by singer-keyboardist Cathal Coughlan and guitarist Sean O’Hagan.

Coughlan (1960–2022) hailed from Glounthaune village and partook in the new wave scene in nearby Cork, where O’Hagan (b. 1959, Luton, England) migrated as a teenager. They met at a 1979 New Year’s Eve party.

Micro Disney (initially styled as two words) played their first shows in 1980 as a five-piece with bassist Chris McCarthy, drummer Dave Galvin, and second guitarist Giordai Ó Laughaire. On August 30, they performed as part of a multi-act event at the Downtown Kampus at Cork Arcadia. One number from their set, “National Anthem,” appears on the 1980 EP Kaught at The Kampus, released on Irish indie Reekus Records with cuts by Mean Features, Nun Attax, and Urban Blitz.

In 1981, Micro Disney performed throughout Ireland with the rhythm section of Mick Lynch and Rob Mackahey, who later surfaced as the singer and drummer (respectively) of the London zolo band Stump.

In 1982, Coughlan and O’Hagan signed as Microdisney to Kabuki Records, a London-based indie with a small roster of new Irish talent, including Kissed Air, Operating Theatre, Rueflex, and the Nun Attax-spinoff Five Go Down to the Sea?

Kabuki Singles

On October 1, 1982, Microdisney made their vinyl debut with “Hello Rascals” backed with “The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost,” both Coughlan–O’Hagan originals.

A. “Hello Rascals”
B. “The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost”

Microdisney cut both sides at Dublin’s Alto Studios with early U2 soundman Dave Freely, who also engineered 1982 singles by Stano and the Zen Alligators. “Hello Rascals” sports an off-green sleeve designed by The Twilight Set with bovine imagery by photographer Mark Baker, both credited on early sleeves by Liverpool contemporaries The Pale Fountains.

On March 21, 1983, Microdisney released their second single: “Pink Skinned Man” backed with “Fiction Land.”

A. “Pink Skinned Man”
B. “Fiction Land”

Microdisney recorded both sides at Alto Studios, where Freely produced “Fiction Land” and colleague Terry Cromer (a later member of U2’s management) oversaw “Pink Skinned Man.” Kabuki distributed the single in the UK via Rough Trade, which signed Microdisney in mid-1983 upon their relocation to London.

On August 3, 1983, Microdisney visited the BBC’s Maida Vale studios and cut their first session for Radio One DJ John Peel, whose 8/10 broadcast aired in-studio renditions of four songs earmarked for their first album: “Sleepless,” “Moon,” “Sun,” and “Before Famine.” Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan functioned as a drummerless duo for this session, which O’Hagan multi-tasked on bass apart from “Sun,” taped with bassist Jonathan Fell.

Through December, Peel championed Microdisney with recurrent airings of “Pink Skinned Man” and “The Helicopter of the Holy Ghost.” Meanwhile, Coughlan and O’Hagan hired Kissed Air bassist John Watt and Fiddler’s Dram drummer Tom Fenner.

On January 14, 1984, Microdisney cut their second Peel session for the DJ’s 1/23 broadcast, which featured rough-takes of four further songs tapped for their upcoming album: “This Liberal Love,” “Escalator In the Rain,” “Dolly,” and “Everybody Is Dead.” After this session, Watt cleared for Fell, who finalized the classic quartet under assorted monikers.

As the release date loomed on their first album, Microdisney revisited Maida Vale a third time on April 14, 1984, for another session with Peel, whose May 1 broadcast previewed a ninth upcoming album track (“Dreaming Drains”) and two songs for a subsequent single (“Teddy Dogs,” “Loftholdingswood”) plus a fourth track reserved for a future album (“A Friend With a Big Mouth”).

Everybody Is Fantastic

Microdisney released their debut album, Everybody Is Fantastic, on May 25, 1984, on Rough Trade.

The album contains thirteen originals by Cathal Coughlan and Sean O’Hagan, including “Idea,” “I’ll Be a Gentleman,” “Come On Over and Cry,” and nine Peel-previewed songs.

They recorded Everybody Is Fantastic with English drummer Tom Fenner and bassist Jon Fell, who went by the moniker ‘Ed Flesh’ for this album. Two songs (“Dolly,” “Everybody Is Dead”) date from a different session with ex-Kokomo drummer Terry Stannard and late-period Man bassist John McKenzie.

Musically, the songs spotlight Coughlin’s lyrical vocals and subtle organ work, trailed with O’Hagan’s clean, legato licks and Fell’s guiding basslines. The songs (mostly mid-tempo) tell stories of assorted misfits.

A1. “Idea” (2:53) concerns Cathal’s unorthodox career path.
A2. “A Few Kisses” (3:16)
A3. “Escalator in the Rain” (3:36)
A4. “Dolly” (3:20)
A5. “Dreaming Drains” (2:49)
A6. “I’ll Be a Gentleman” (3:32) concerns an awkward adult’s baby steps to courtship.
A7. “Moon” (3:02) is a slow, ethereal track with a brief verse regarding the “man in the moon” idiom.
B1. “Sun” (3:14) concerns a vintage lush who loves sun but hates heat. He frequents a local bar, where he fails to impress the barmaid but pulls a like-minded regular.
B2. “Sleepless” (2:35) regards a family man whose newfound lease on life infuses him with religious vigor.
B3. “Come on Over and Cry” (3:06) recalls a selfless, loved father who crumbled and disappeared; as related by the now-adult son who seems resigned to the same fate.
B4. “This Liberal Love” (3:15) concerns a dependent, awkward man who finally loses his virginity to a loose, older woman. After he falls in love, an argument erupts over their status.
B5. “Before Famine” (3:43)
B6. “Everybody Is Dead” (3:08)

Microdisney recorded Everybody Is Fantastic with producer/engineer Steve Parker, a soundman on earlier titles by Berlin Blondes, The Fall, Fischer-Z, Virgin Prunes, and the first two solo albums by Colin Newman. The two McKenzie/Stannard recordings were overseen by John Porter, a veteran Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry soundman with recent credits behind Killing Joke, Orange Juice, The Smiths, and ex-Josef K singer Paul Haig.

Everybody Is Fantastic shows a silhouetted coastal city at pre-dawn, photographed from a distance by Richard Haughton, whose images grace 1983/84 sleeves for Anthony Moore, The Associates, Chaz Jankel, Fiat Lux, Kajagoogoo, and Thomas Dolby.

Rough Trade lifted “Dolly” as a June 1984 single (b/w “This Liberal Love”). The 12″ also includes “Everybody Is Dead” and a fourth track, “Dear Rosemary,” a Parker sessions outtake

We Hate You South African Bastards!

In October 1984, Rough Trade issued We Hate You South African Bastards!, a compilation of Microdisney’s 1982–84 pre-LP material.

1. “Helicopter of the Holy Ghost” (3:53)
2. “Michael Murphy” (2:08)
3. “Love Your Enemies” (3:12)
4. “Fiction Land” (2:28)
5. “Pink Skinned Man” (4:08)
6. “Patrick Moore Says You Can’t Sleep Here” (2:23)
7. “Hello Rascals” (2:46)
8. “Pretoria Quickstep” (4:50)
9. “Loftholdingswood” (5:30)
10. “Teddy Dogs” (3:28)
11. “464” (5:58)

On October 2, 1984, Microdisney cut their fourth Peel session for the DJ’s 10/10 broadcast, which aired rough-takes of one upcoming EP track (“464”) and three songs earmarked for their second album: “Genius,” “Horse Overboard,” and “Goodbye – It’s 1987.”

In the World

In March 1985, Microdisney released In the World, a fifteen-minute EP with thee unique Coughlan–O’Hagan originals.

A1. “Loftholdingswood” (5:33)
A2. “Teddy Dogs” (3:33)
B1. “464” (5:53)

Sessions occurred in January–February 1985 in London, where Microdisney recorded the EP as a five-piece with keyboardist Nick Montgomery.

The Clock Comes Down the Stairs

Microdisney released their second proper studio album, The Clock Comes Down the Stairs, in November 1985 on Rough Trade. It contains ten Coughlan/O’Hagan originals, including “Past,” “Begging Bowl,” and four Peel-previewed songs, including the opener “Horse Overboard.”

Cathal and Sean maintained the Everybody quartet with Tom Fenner and Jon Fell, again masquerading as ‘Ed Flesh.’ Coughlan himself uses the moniker ‘Blah Blah’ and takes credit for “plastic pubis.”

The Clock features guest musicianship from saxophonist Richard St Jeffe and Caravan violist Geoffrey Richardson. Onetime Mo-Dette drummer June Miles-Kingston appears as a vocalist on “Are You Happy?” and the closing track, “And.”

A1. “Horse Overboard” (3:53)
A2. “Birthday Girl” (4:08)
A3. “Past” (4:29)
A4. “Humane” (3:07)
A5. “Are You Happy?” (5:24)
B1. “Genius” (4:20)
B2. “Begging Bowl” (5:36)
B3. “A Friend With a Big Mouth” (3:25)
B4. “Goodbye It’s 1987” (4:12)
B5. “And” (4:21)

The Clock Comes Down the Stairs was mastered in West London at Townhouse Studios with producer/engineer Jamie Lane, a recent Diamond Head and Murray Head soundman and onetime drummer of Public Foot the Roman and its offshoot, The Movies.

Richardson (a recent Murray Head sideman) partook amid work with the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, whose 1984 E’G release Broadcasting from Home shared Clock Comes co-engineer Ian Morais, an assistant of Rupert Hine.

Baker Dave of Assorted iMaGes designed the Clock Comes cover, which shows a full-scale photo of the track convergence at Clapham Junction, captured by Felicia Cohen, a magazine portrait photographer. The back cover pictured each member in a different setting, including Blah Blah on a TV screen.

Microdisney preceded the album with “Birthday Girl,” released as a September single with “Harmony Time,” an exclusive from the Morais sessions. The 12″ contains a third exclusive, “Money for the Trams.”

B1. “Harmony Time” (5:03)
B2. “Money for the Trams” (6:52)

On December 3, 1985, Microdisney cut their fifth Peel session with a fifth member, keyboardist James Compton, a onetime auxiliary of Straight Eight (pop-rockers singed to Pete Townshend‘s Eel Pie label). Peel’s 12/11 broadcast aired Maida Vale renditions of “Begging Bowl” and three new songs reserved for their far-off next album: “Town to Town,” “Bullwhip Road,” and “People Just Want To Dream.”

On July 7, 1986, Microdisney taped their sixth session for John Peel, whose August 6 broadcast aired BBC studio performances of two further cuts slated for their third album (“Armadillo Man,” “And He Descended Into Hell”) and another set aside for their fourth (“Soul Boy”), plus one exclusive (“Half a Day”).

Crooked Mile

Microdisney released their third album, Crooked Mile, in January 1987 on Virgin Records. The album contains the Peel-previewed “Bullwhip Road,” “People Just Want to Dream,” and the single “Town to Town,” plus nine further Coughlan/O’Hagan originals, including “Rack,” “Big Sleeping House,” and “Mrs. Simpson.”

Crooked Mile features a five-piece Microdisney with Cathal, Sean, and mainstays Jon Fell and Tom Fenner, plus recent addition James Compton, who plays keyboards and accordion. Fell adopts a new nickname, ‘Steve Pregnant.’

June Kingston returns as a backing vocalist. Onetime Cochise guitarist B.J. Cole makes contributions on pedal steel (“Our Children”) and lap steel (“Hey Hey Sam”). “Rack” features the ‘Frugalhorns of Allah.’

A1. “Town to Town” (3:21) is a medium-uptempo song with a low-end bass ostinato (in F), refined strings, and muted/twangy guitar licks. Cathal copes as his ex-lover departs for a friend in a new town.
A2. “Angels” (3:44)
A3. “Our Children” (4:33)
A4. “Mrs. Simpson” (3:54)
A5. “Hey Hey Sam” (4:21)
A6. “Give Me All of Your Clothes” (4:03)
B1. “Armadillo Man” (3:05)
B2. “Bullwhip Road” (3:39)
B3. “And He Descended Into Hell” (3:45)
B4. “Rack” (4:30) is a mid-tempo song with faint Hammond, clipped guitar, subtle cello, emotive vocals, and understated bass (C scale); cut with a synth-laden middle. Cathal copes with fear, distrust, and doubt as he ring-leads a heist.
B5. “Big Sleeping House” (3:04) has a strummed big-beat intro, followed by a crisp acoustic motif that heralds swaying verses, a trip-beat bridge and a flowing, harmonized chorus; cut with a jazzy middle-eight. Cathal relates an early sexual encounter at a hometown hotel with a long-departed (and now wealthy) local girl.
B6. “People Just Want to Dream” (5:20)

Sessions occurred in London at Jam Studios, a 24-track Tollington Park facility, where music journalist and onetime Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye produced Crooked Mile in sequence with Solitude Standing, the breakthrough second album by Suzanne Vega. Serial soundman Bill Gill played tambourine and recorder on the sessions.

Crooked Mile shows a pair of handcuffs on a wood table under serif all-caps. The back cover shows the tuxedo-clad band as gangsters at a table covered in ‘happy dust’ (cocaine). The inner-sleeve presents the album’s lyrics as one hand-written paragraph. Designer Keith Breeden (ABC, Blancmange, Re-Flex, Talk Talk) and photographer Rob Brimson (Animals, Moroccan Roll, Pyramid, Year of the Cat) also worked together on 1985–87 album visuals for Scritti Politti (Cupid and Psyche 85) and The Cult (Electric).

Virgin issued “Town to Town” as a January 1987 single with the non-album “Little Town In Ireland,” a Kaye sessions extra with strings arranged by C.P. Roth, an orchestrator on Suzanne Vega’s first album.

A2. “Little Town In Ireland”

The single appeared as a four-song maxi-7″ backed with live versions of “Bullwhip Road” and “Genius,” recorded in November 1986 at the Boston Arms in London. An alternate release of the “Town to Town” / “Little Town” single contains Maida Vale renditions of the 1985 songs “Begging Bowl,” “Horse Overboard,” and “Loftholdingswood,” all recorded for John Peel.

In the “Town to Town” video, Microdisney perform in a window-wall studio that doubles as a public transit vehicle. Members and travelers climb aboard as a leather-jacketed Cathal stands tense with his hands folded tight as tenement scenery passes behind. Midway, their traveling studio passes through a car wash. Later, their hybrid vehicle passes a group of Easterly RC Club cyclists in yellow/green uniforms.

39 Minutes

Microdisney released their fourth and final album, 39 Minutes, in April 1988 on Virgin. It contains the pre-released single “Singer’s Hampstead Home” and the Peel-previewed “Soul Boy” amid eight fresh Coughlan/O’Hagan originals, including “Herr Direktor,” “Back to the Old Town,” “Ambulance for One,” and a second single, “Gale Force Wind.”

39 Minutes (a reference to the album’s approximate duration) retains the five-piece Crooked Mile lineup with Compton, Fenner, and Fell, now identified as ‘Crazy Johnny Nancy.’ Sean triples on banjo and harmonica.

Select tracks feature returning guests B.J. Cole (pedal steel on “Soul Boy”) and June Miles-Kingston (vocals on “Bluerings”). “United Colours” features brass by the Kick Horns and backing vocals by the ‘Fabulous Golden Showers,’ comprised of transatlantic soul vets George Chandler (Gonzalez, Olympic Runners), Jimmy Chambers (Dada, Batti Mamzelle), and Jimmy Helms (a recent Madness auxiliary).

1. “Singer’s Hampstead Home” (4:02)
2. “High & Dry” (3:03)
3. “Send Herman Home” (4:04)
4. “Ambulance for One” (3:26)
5. “Soul Boy” (5:05)
6. “Back to the Old Town” (3:14)
7. “United Colours” (3:18)
8. “Gale Force Wind” (3:58)
9. “Herr Direktor” (3:42)
10. “Bluerings” (3:55)

“Singer’s Hampstead Home” appeared six months prior as an October 1987 single with a non-album b-side, “She Only Gave In to Her Anger,” produced by one Phil Squeed Jnr. The 12″ contains a second exclusive, “Brother Olaf.”

B1. “Brother Olaf” (3:46)
B2. “She Only Gave In to Her Anger” (3:48)

The video to “Singer’s Hampstead Home” takes place at a log cabin in the woods, where Microdisney perform alfresco, flanked at times with a sober, motionless entourage.

Microdisney reunited with Clock Comes Down the Stairs producer Jamie Lane for the 39 Minutes sessions, which occurred in London at RAK and the newly opened Mountebank Studio with engineer Bill Gill, a Crooked Mile presence.

39 Minutes pictures Microdisney on the stairs of London’s Mainline Railway terminal, photographed by Tony Latham, also credited on earlier Polydor sleeves for The Jam and Barclay James Harvest. The back cover displays a collage of vintage photos, press clippings, and rose buds, arranged by Dave Dragon, whose Seventies visual credits span the post-psych era (Jan Dukes de Grey, Leaf Hound) to the post-punk years (The Cure, Wire).

In February 1988, “Gale Force Wind” appeared as the second advance single, backed with “I Can’t Say No (Betty Lou Version),” another Publius Squeed production with vocals by on Betty Lou Duprée. The 12″ contains alternate versions titles “Can’t I Say No? (Hackney Aid)” and “No, I Can’t Say (Thank You For Speaking To Me Mustapha),” the latter with violinist Ian Telfer, Fenner’s onetime Fiddler’s Dram bandmate.

B. “I Can’t Say No (Betty Lou Version)”

Post-Microdisney

Microdisney disbanded in 1989. Cathal Caoughlin formed the Fatima Mansions, which debuted with the EP Against Nature and released four albums between 1990 and 1994 on Kitchenware Records. Sean O’Hagan formed the High Llamas, which made one 1990 album on Demon Records.

Discography: